The major purpose of education is developing students’ capacities and potential.

As a field of practice,
Bush & Glover (2002) indicate that education management focuses on how education managers
coordinate the institutions’ activities (operations) in attempt to ensure that there is effectiveness and
efficiency in meeting the goals set (capacity development).

Education management overlaps with administration and leadership concepts. Additionally, Bush (2003)
notes that the term ‘management’ is commonly used in Britain and Europe while in Canada and United
States, the term ‘administration’ is preferred. This has led to competing education management
definitions and understanding.

As a result, most school leaders have difficulty balancing between school operations (management),
leadership, staff and student performance improvement and administration or lower-order
duties.Therefore, this paper seeks to conceptualize education management or rather find out what
education management is and it impacts in schools. This will help school leaders understand the context
of education management and avoid confusion that exists between administration, management and
leadership.

The impact of educational management can be well elaborated by a research conducted by Poster
(1988) in Center for Study of Comprehensive Schools.

Most school managers attested that education management has been fundamental in managing staff,
technological changes, conflicting viewpoints existing between teachers and students, available
resources and changes in market (education quality and standards). Additionally, most attested that
educational management concepts enabled them plan, control and organise school operations.

As a result, most managers acknowledged that their schools had made major improvements towards
ensuring that students had a firm basis in life (had endowed facilities, well trained teachers and offered
wider education curriculums). This clearly indicates that education management has basically managed
to turn-around schools; ensure that school operations are well aligned to address the needs of the
school at large.